words

Sometimes they fail me...

I can't tell you how many times I've come and opened a blank post and then just sat staring at the empty screen... the words, they just will not come. For that I am sorry, but I know they will come eventually... but I didn't disappear, just incase anyone was worried :)

coming soon... maybe some... words?

2008

JANUA​RY
1.Who kisse​d you on new years​?​​ that would be no one...
2.Did you have a New Year'​​s Resol​ution​ this year?​​ I don't remember... ha
3.Does it snow where​ you live?​​ right now - definitely NOT, in 2 days - TWO DAYSSS - YES!
4.Do you like hot choco​late?​​ mmmm yes!!!
5.Have you ever been to Times​ Squar​e to watch​ the ball drop?​​ No, but I REALLY want to

FEBRU​ARY
1.Who was your Valen​tine?​​ 9 lovely Kindergartners
2.When you were littl​e did you buy Valen​tine'​​s for the whole​ class​? of course, still do!
3.Do you care if the groun​dhog sees its shadow or not? nah
4.What did you recei​ve for valen​tine'​​s day? lots of little handmade cards & a few store bought ones
5.What did you give for valen​tine'​​s day? I gave my class cards, candy & some stickers :)

MARCH​
1.Are you Irish​?​​ probably have some in me...
2.Do you like corne​d beef and cabba​ge?​​ I think so
3.What did you do for St Patri​ck'​​s Day? umm... was excited for it to almost be mybirthday?
4.Are you happy​ when winte​r is prett​y much over?​​ winter? what's winter

APRIL​
1.Do you like the rain?​​ I love the way the rain smells here :)
2.Did you play an April​ fool'​​s joke on anyon​e this year?​​ I probably tried to trick my kiddies somehow
3.Do you get tons of candy​ for Easte​r? Negative

MAY
1.What is your favor​ite flowe​r?​​ ohhh I like lots of different kinds... depends on what they are for
2.Finis​h the phras​e "​​April​ showe​rs…"​​ make the ground really muddy & gives me red feet
3.Do you celeb​rate May 16th:​​ Natio​nal Pierc​ing Day? nooo
4.Is May anyth​ing speci​al to you? Not for any reason in particular

JUNE
1.What year did/​​will you gradu​ate from high schoo​l? ​​2004
2.Did you do anyth​ing fun durin​g this Month​?​​ OH YES - I went to AMERICA :)
3.Have a favor​ite baseb​all team?​​ well I guess I'll just say the Reds

JULY
1.What did you do on the 4th of July?​​ I think went to my grandmas for lunch, then fireworks
2.Did you go to the firew​orks?​​ of course!
3.Did you blast​ the A/C all day? definitely not - I was probably wearing a sweater all day...

AUGUS​T
1.What was your favor​ite summe​r memor​y of '08? oh man! there were a LOT of good ones this summer - I loved being home so much!
2.Did you have a sunbu​rn? in the weak American sun?? nahh
3.Did you go to the pool a lot? nope

SEPTE​MBER
1.Are you atten​ding school​?​​ teaching
2.What happe​ned this month​?​​ tried out for the pantomime

OCTOB​ER
1.What was your last Hallo​ween costu​me?​​ Greek goddess
2. What is your favorite candy? Reese's and Snickers
3.What was your favor​ite thing​(​​s)​​ about​ this month​?​​ mm... Pantomime practice, cause thats ALL I did

NOVEM​BER
1. Where were you for Thanksgiving? At the Callis' house w/ all my roomies & fellow 20-something teachers
2.What are you thank​ful for? My Jesus, my rockin awesome family & wonderful friends :) and sooo much more!
3.Do you love stuff​ing?​​ love, I wouldn't go that far... like
4.Anyth​ing speci​al in this month​? Thanksgiving, Jumble Sale

DECEM​BER
1.Do you celeb​rate Chris​tmas?​​ because it is Jesus' birthday!!
2.Have you ever been kisse​d under​ the mistl​etoe?​​ don't think so...
3.What do you want for Christmas? to be homeee
4.Get anything good this year? I'll find out in 2 weeks :)
5.What do you love most about December? I'M GOING TO AMERICA TOMORROWWWW!!!

Mocha Club(s)

Watch the video. The Africa you see here is mine... the one I see. Poor and needy people everywhere, yet people who have joy overflowing - not circumstantial, possession-based joy you see in other places, but joy that knows no limit, no bounds and has no physical value.

Join Mocha Club.

Drink Starbucks Holiday Drinks (Peppermint Mocha Twist, Gingersnap Latte, and Espresso Truffle) .05 cents from every holiday drink from now until January 2, 2009 goes to support (red), a group fighting against AIDS in Africa

gobbledy gook

~ opening night of the Pantomime is tomorrow... I'm exhausted, my health is teetering on a very fine point, my body aches, my patience is waining - BUT - I wouldn't take it back for the world, and I am SO glad that I let the high schoolers convince me to try out - as my roommate Mariah just told me a bit ago, when I think about my 3rd semester in Ghana, this is what I will remember... because it's all I did :)

~ I am going to be finishing up the first semester of school and going to get on a plane in 10 days. This makes me very happy. I will also be losing a fantastic aid, who is heading back to the US for university, in 10 days... this makes me sad...

~ I need to stop shopping online (only 3 orders + 1 thing for my class... not too bad, but I still need to stop)

~ I WON SOMETHING!!! :) - I won the prize of an awesome framed print of an awesome photo for that last blog I wrote from Kate, a friend of a friend whose blog I found and have been loving (I can't wait to get it in the mail when I get home!!)!

~ Going home in 10 days means I'm taking the GRE in 14 days... eek... not so excited about this - but I am excited to get it over with, and hopefully complete the process of applying to both of the Grad schools I'm looking at right now (UC and WSU).

~ I should have been in bed a longggg time ago... I think I'm to that point where my body is on autopilot and sleep isn't something it's been doing much lately, so that's not the mode it is in... ugh.

~ My class did a rockin' awesome job on the Christmas art projects we did in class today - 3-D Christmas trees and snowman mosaics - I need to take pictures of the festiveness of my classroom... it far surpasses last years. Mom, you will be proud of my spontaneous creativity for these projects this last week or so :)

~ I found out the dates for my Katie's choir/showchior Christmas concerts, and I'll be homeeee :) - being in the pantomime has made me miss showchoir something fierce, and I can't wait to go sing Hallelujah Chorus and The 12 Days After Christmas up on stage with my baby sister for her last time doing it as a student!

~ and pretty much... basically... I'LL BE IN OHIO IN 11 DAYS (ya, the whole day-and-a-half to get there thing is pretty dumb... but hey, in the air is closer than here!!) :) :) :) :) :) :)

I need Africa more than Africa needs me

the title of this blog is so true... I am here, and I am doing my best to help anyone that I can... but on the same token, that's just what I would be doing in the US as well.

I am so torn on the subject of aid... my roommates and I talk about this every now and then, and Mariah actually just posted this article from BBC to her Facebook:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7740652.stm It's a very good article - check it out if you can!!

Anyway, back to why I need Africa more than it needs me... and why the heck I'm writing this in the first place - there is an org called Mocha Club - I'm not yet a member myself, but I have lots of close friends who are, and do intend to become a member, most likely this summer when I return home and am back to having a normal salary - it's a great org that asks for $7 a month, instead of one Mocha, to go toward aid in Africa. Again, I am torn about this, but I really feel that this org is doing a great job at seeing to the money actually getting to the people who need it. There are several different projects which you can choose to have your money go toward. I found the site of a woman named Kate a few days ago, and she challenged her readers to post about this topic, to join Mocha Club, and is even offering a contest to win a print from her and her husband's trip to South Africa/Zimbabwe (the pictures are BEAUTIFUL!!). I have visited the Mocha Club site several times in the last few weeks after hearing about it so much from my friends who are a part of it, and after reading her post and accepting her challenge... well, here we are!

Ok... finally! The project that I identify most with on the Mocha Club site is the one called Orphan Care. I am drawn to this cause for so many reasons... from wanting to adopt children myself someday, to getting to know personally a house full of orphaned children here in Ghana. If only I could take them all up in my arms and keep them forever... unfortunately I can't - and even if I could adopt even one now, it wouldn't be fair to my future husband or the child. I can, however, get their stories out and encourage others to actively take some role in helping to care for orphans around the world - not just in Africa, but even in the US (orphan care is even in the Bible! - James 1:27). Here is an excerpt of the comment I left on Kate's blog yesterday to help explain why I relate to Orphan Care:

"Since I’ve been here in Ghana (I’m working as a teacher at an international Christian school) my heartbeat has been a local orphanage. The stories of the children who I’ve gotten to know and love with all my heart are incredible… sad, hopeful, encouraging, and heart wrenching all at the same time. When I visited Mocha Club last week, the first project that jumped out at me was Orphan Care. I have always felt a longing in me to have a family, and there has always been a still small voice that has said over and over again that part of that family was going to be adopted - children from around the world, a rainbow of skin, children who God has a special plan to become a part of my family - precious gifts wrapped in a different package, adoption. Until that time comes, I want to do whatever I can to stay involved with the orphanage I volunteer at here in Ghana, and others such as the ones through Mocha Club."

Please check out the Mocha Club website and seriously consider joining - only $7 a month, only 1 Mocha that you have to give up! Here is the link to their site:

https://www.mochaclub.org/mochaclub/welcome

and for real finally... why I REALLY need Africa more than Africa needs me...

Almost 2 years ago, God started me on my journey to Africa. A journey that has not always been easy, one that has shown me sides of people I didn't know could be so dark yet has shown me pure joy in Jesus at the same time. God has taught me lessons that I never could have learned in Ohio, that He had specially planned for me to learn during my time here. I have been stretched and pushed outside of my comfort zone, and been ok with it, so many more times here in Ghana that I ever would in the US. I needed Africa to teach me so many things... that I am independent, but only through the support of my Savior. That people are not always what they seem... both negatively and positively. That the passion that I talked about for orphans is a real one and that it really does come from God. That I love teaching, but am meant to be teaching Special Education. That my parents really do know what they are talking about, and that I am so grateful to them & have so much respect for them because of everything they have done for me. That I really can do ALL THINGS through Christ, because He strengthens me. And that my God is a GREAT BIG God, that He holds me in His hands, and that He will NEVER leave me. Not only these things but so much more... that is why I needed Africa so much more than it has or will ever need me.